Come Back to Me, Please
by BrandedInsanity
Summary: With the falling out of the GOM, Kuroko walks home alone and gets into a terrible car accident. Which leads to misunderstandings of massive proportions: Kuroko Tetsuna thinks her friends have abandoned her because she cant play basketball anymore...while they are misinformed and think that their sixth man is dead... [Female Kuroko]
1. Chapter 1

Kuroko Tetsuna dressed much slower than normal. She knew full well that her teammates wouldn't be waiting for her on the other side of those doors, not anymore. She looked down at her right hand, clenching and unclenching it, remembering how Aomine had shoved passed her the day they won the semi-finals. _"The only one that can beat me, is me" _  
The words echoed in her head and flowed through her body, leaving her trembling. She quickly shook her head, deciding she hated feeling this weak. She quickly grabbed her bag and headed home.  
It was dawn when she started to walk, she wished she had left sooner…it would be dark by the time she got home and her siblings would worry. She sighed, she could almost hear them yelling now.

As she crossed the road, she thought of the GOM and how much they had changed in such a short amount of time. She closed her eyes and wished that she could help them be happy again, that there was a way for them all to love basketball again, and that they could all be friends again…. when she was suddenly bathed in light. Her head snapped at the source…headlights. As the car crashed into her little body and she flew through the air, her mind unable to keep up with the speed of her external events, before she felt the unimaginable pain…she thought of the GOM and wondered who would save them when she died….

Akashi Seijiuro is absolute in his power. He controls everything in his life; his house, his school, his team, and even his friends. It was only logical to assume that he was also absolute in his dreams. From a young age, Akashi learned how to control his dreams, he never once had a nightmare, until tonight. He was sitting on the rooftop of Teiko, idly listening to the sound of the cicadas, when Tetsuna sat next to him. He smirked and said her name in recognition. Tetsuna merely nodded in response, tucking a hair behind her ear as she gazed into the distance. She had a worried look on her face, but Akashi didn't say anything. He noticed her shifting uncomfortably, but remained silent. They sat like that for a while…..until Akashi heard a soft crack. He looked down and saw the ground beneath Tetsuna's feet had cracked a little. There was another noise as the crack beneath her began to spider web. "It's dangerous, Tetsuna, come with me. We have to get off the roof" He demanded. Tetsuna looked into Akashi's eyes, her face as emotionless as ever. "I can't" The earth under her began to shake and the cracks became bigger….a hole slowly forming. "Don't disobey me, Tetsuna. Come here" Akashi's calmed his voice but for some reason he was unable to move his body. He tried to reach out to her, for the first time, feeling extremely desperate. "Come to me, Tetsuna!" He barked his order. Tetsuna's gaze never left his….as the earth opened and swallowed her up.

Akashi woke up with a start. He put a hand over his heart…it was just a dream, no reason to get all worked up... He quickly grabbed his phone, attempting to call Tetsuna, when he caught a glance of big glowing red letters that read 3:45AM. He let out a soft curse…

Akashi shook his head, reminding himself that school would begin in a couple hours and he would just see her then…right? He sat up in his bed and ran a hand through his red locks, concentrating….when was the last time he saw Tetsuna anyway? He thought of all the classes he had with her…he was always seated near the front, while Tetsuna's assigned seats were always somewhere behind him…add in Tetsuna's extremely weak presence and not even Akashi could remember if he saw her. He then thought about basketball practice. Had Tetsuna been there? She was much smaller than everyone else on the team and when they ran it was easy to not see Tetsuna running amidst the crowd of athletes. The GOM often ate lunch together on the roof…but with the way things have been lately, they've all been doing their own thing…

A foreign feeling of panic surged through Akashi's body. No, he was being irrational. She had a low presence, that was all. There was no reason to be worried, this was a stupid silly dream. His sudden loss of control was what worried him, not the fact that Tetsuna was involved…right? He let out a heavy sigh and laid back down on his bed. This was stupid, he would talk to Tetsuna in the morning.

He couldn't find her. Why couldn't he find her? His emperor eyes scanned the campus in search of that sky blue hair. Where the hell was she? He cursed, not liking the panic that was itching up his body. He pulled out his phone and tried to call her – but once again he only got the voice mail. He shoved the phone into his pocket, his eyes lowering as if glaring at the campus itself. He had to find Daiki, Tetsuna was probably hanging out with Daiki. The two were best friends after all, it would be logical to assume they were together. Akashi made his way to the roof, not liking how his feet were forcing him to move faster. When he reached the roof he was almost out of breath. He approached the sleeping Daiki, delivering a swift kick to his stomach. "AGH, what the hell?" Aomine growled standing up. When blue eyes met the heterochromatic eyes of his captain, Aomine sighed, "You said you don't care if I come to practice as long as I win games…." "I'm not here about that" "Oh…then what do you want?" Aomine asked with a yawn. Akashi glared at him, "Have you seen Tetsuna lately?" "Ah…Tetsu? Nah…I've been sleeping up here the last couple weeks during class…if she was here I didn't see her" "When's the last time you talked to her?" "I don't know…yesterday maybe?" "Are you sure?" "Nope." Aomine yawned again and laid back down. Akashi delivered another kick to the bluenettes stomach, forcing the man to stand again. "What?" Aomine growled. "Think harder. The last time you talked to her, for sure." Akashi emphasized, clicking the pair of scissors that seemed to magically appear in his hands. "Uh….right….chill Akashi….last time I saw her…for sure…ah during the semi-finals?" "Not after?" "What?" "You didn't walk her home?" "Did you?" Akashi glared, "No, I didn't." "Well, whatever. That's the last time I saw her, now leave me alone" "That was almost a month ago, Daiki" "Was it?" Aomine mumbled not paying attention. "This is important, Daiki. Are you sure that's the last time you saw her?" "Why do you care, why don't you ask her?" Aomine barked. "Because, Daiki, I can't find her"

Aomine froze, his eyes looked at his captain skeptically, "What do you mean you can't find her?" "I mean, when I think about it, the last time I saw her was during the semi-finals – and I haven't seen or talked to her since" Aomine felt his heart beat painfully in his chest. "What…What are you saying…" "There's no need to worry, not yet….maybe someone else has seen her" "I'm coming with you" Aomine quickly dusted off his uniform. Akashi didn't reply as the two walked down the stairs towards the library.

"Shintaro…" Akashi started, even he was shocked by the Betty Boop doll the stoic man was carrying. "Akashi-san, hello…and Aomine" "Yo…Have you seen Tetsu around?" "Tch, I could never understand that one, why would I be hanging around her?" Midrioma adjusted his glasses, glaring at his teammates. "I didn't ask if you were hanging out with her, I asked if you've seen her lately, you ass!" Daiki barked. "This is important, Shintaro" Akashi said calmly, effectively shutting down the impending argument. "Last time I saw her was during semi-finals. She went to fist bump Aomine, but he shoved passed her" Midrioma kept his eyes locked on the tall ganguro. "I didn't shove passed her" Aomine defended. "Think what you want, I saw what I saw. Why are you asking anyway?" "It seems Tetsuna might be missing" "Missing? That idiot just has a low presence, if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be found" "Believe what you wish, we will be asking the others, however" Akashi said curtly before turning. Midrioma lowered his eyes, she wasn't missing, right? As objectively pretty as the girl was, kidnapping was extremely improbable – she had no presence, no one would notice her. But still… "wait, I'll come too….not that I care or anything, but I should prove Aomine wrong with her side of the story" "Yeah, sure, baka tsundere!"

The three basketball players soon came upon Murasakibara, who was standing in front of the vending machines with his arms already full of snacks. He noticed his teammates approaching and greeted them with their respective nicknames. "Atushi, when's the last time you saw Tetsuna?" Murasakibara took a bite of his pockey, his eyes were half-lid and lazy, "During practice?" he wondered turning his head ever so slightly, in thought. "She wasn't at practice today, Atushi" "Ah…is that so? Then I don't remember Akachin" he took another bite of his snack and hummed softly.

Atushi decided to join the search, as he had all the snacks he wanted and nothing better to do. Besides, he always liked Tetsuna. She always smelled like vanilla and readily had snacks for the giant. He hummed, satisfied with his snack haul, until he heard the annoying girls of fan girls.

"I'm sorry, pretty ladies, but I need to get going now…." Kise was cornered by fangirls. "Ah, but Kise-kun, I wanted a picture with you!" "You'll only look worse next to a beauty like him, back off!" The girls bickered loudly as Kise raised both hands, trying to calm the girls down. "Ryouta…" All eyes landed on the captain, he glared at the girls, "leave" and without a pause, all the girls ran for the hills. "You seem pretty busy, Ryouta" "It's the modeling thing, Akashichii! I've only started out, but the girls seem to recognize me" Kise pouted. Akashi raised an eyebrow, "Pardon me if I sound completely uninterested, Ryouta, its only because I am" "That's too mean, Akashichi! Anyways, its odd to see you all together. Ah! Where's Kurokochi!?" Kise smiled looking around the group for that sky blue mop. "That's why we came here, you idiot. Have you seen her?" "Eh? No, not lately" "When's the last time?" "Semi-finals" The Miragen said simultaneously. "EH? How did you know I was gonna say that!" "Because that's the last time any of us saw her" "That can't be right! That was almost…" "It was 3 weeks ago – Tetsuna has been missing for 3 weeks and we're only now realizing it" Akashi said darkly. "Come, we're going to the office"

"Ah, Kuroko Tetsuna? Sorry, but she's been pulled from Teiko." "She's been what?" Akashi asked, trying to keep himself calm. "Yeah, her guardian came by, pulled her from the school – didn't explain or leave a reason, but that kid is long gone" The teacher shrugged and pulled a file from his desk – "you're gonna ask for this anyway, right? Take it. It's her's". The Miragen bowed politely and followed their captain outside to look at the file. Akashi pulled out a small envelope, which was quickly taken by Aomine. "This is….a letter of resignation from the basketball team!" Atushi dropped his snacks, "Kurochin quit the team?" "No way! Kurokochi loves basketball more than anyone! Why would she quit?!" Kise yelled moving to stand behind Aomine to look at the letter. "It's dated for the day of semi-finals…" Aomine touched turned the letter over in his hands. "She must have turned it in afterwards…" Midrioma added "Wait, did you know, Akashi?!" Aomine turned to their captain. "No, I was not informed of this…probably because Tetsuna was taken out of Teiko the day after – it must not have seemed relevant" "Bullshit! This is Tetsuna we're talking about!" "I didn't say I thought it was irrelevant, Daiki, I said it must have seemed that way to the school"

Daiki bit his tongue, thoughts running a mile a minute – there was so much he had to ask Tetsuna. But first, they had to find her. "Does that file have an address?" "Already memorized it, let's go"

The GOM ran through the streets, following closely behind their captain. When they finally reached Tetsuna's address, they ran into a group of gossiping house wives standing by the fence outside the house. "Ah, hello, is this the Kuroko residence?" Akashi asked, composing himself. "Ah…yes, who are you?" "We're friends of Kuroko Tetsuna, we've been looking all over for her" Aomine said wiping his sweat. The ladies exchanged glances. "Could it be you haven't heard?" "Haven't heard what? Are you sure this is the right place? It looks abandoned" Kise said taking a look at the house – it was obvious no one was living there in a while. "Ah, that's because it is. That night….that night the Kuroko family packed up all their things and left…too many memories I guess" "that night? What night?" "The night Tetsuna was hit by that car! How could you not have heard?" "The poor girl…they say she never even saw it coming!" "She was a kind thing, that Tetsuna…it's such a shame…"

After a while of silence, the ladies decided to move along. The darkness rising in the GOM's faces was not something they could or wanted to deal with. "It's a lie!" Aomine yelled suddenly, he charged for the house banging on the door as hard as he could. "Tetsu! Tetsu! It's me! Open the door! Open the goddamn door! Tetsu" He kept banging, eyes wide as tears began to flow down his face. "Tetsu! Please! Open the door!" He roared, banging on the door until it was dented and his fists were bleeding. Kise fell to his knees, "this is a joke right?" he mumbled, tears flowing down his face. "some sort of…weird…cruel…joke…Kurokochi is gonna come out any second and bonk me on the head right? She's gonna come out and hit me and call me an idiot for believing this joke right?" He placed his hands on the ground, "please come out Kurokochi…please show yourself….you're gonna come out if I…keep calling for you…right? Kurokochi!" He screamed, his body shaking. Murasakibara looked around, "Kurochin isn't gone. She can't be gone. She's just little" He walked around the yard, looking through the bushes. "Come out, Kurochin. I'll get you snacks" He called out. "Kurochin, come out. This isn't funny….Kurochin…Kurochin where are you? Kurochin? You're not gone, Kurochin. Who's gonna take naps with me if you're gone? Who am I gonna share vanilla snacks with if you're gone? Who's height am I gonna tease if you're….gone...?" Murasakibara hunched over looking at the ground as his tears began to flow. Suddenly, his large body seemed too big for him and he fell onto his knees. "Kurochin…who's gonna go to the snack shop with me if you're gone?" He mumbled.

Midrioma wracked his brain. _"Have care with the things you love, or you might lose them forever" "Keep an eye out for the little things" "Be vigilant – don't lose sight of what's important_" All those Ohsaa fortune telling…he had thought they were referencing his school or his basketball….but they were all warning him of **this**. He felt like the wind got knocked out of him. He turned to lean on the fence of the Kuroko home…he thought of her and how she had probably walked passed this fence on her last day, and he couldn't help but cry.

This was wrong. Akashi was absolute, he never lost control – of anything. This was wrong, there was a mistake, there had to be. Tetsuna couldn't be dead – he hadn't…they hadn't….she had barely lived…this was wrong. It was impossible. It couldn't be…Akashi closed his eyes – fighting with every shred of strength he had left to keep the tears at bay. He had failed her. A captain was supposed to look after his players….no…it was more than that…they were friends…he should have looked after her because Tetsuna regarded him as one of her treasured friends…and to him…she was…she was….. _'Is that what_ _the dream was about? Were you trying to tell me goodbye, Tetsuna?'_ He thought before sending a punch through the fence. The Miragen fell silent. Akashi turned and began to walk away. "Where are you going, Akachin?" Murasakibara called from the yard. "Home" "What are we gonna do, Akashichi?" Kise whispered. "We….we are going to honor her…we failed her in life…but we can honor her in death. We'll go to our respective schools…..and we'll fight…we'll fight for her" "We…we can't just go to the same place? Why do we have to separate…we….we've been through a lot together…" Kise mumbled. "We deserve punishment…separating the GOM…that will be the start"


	2. Chapter 2

A little A/N!

Hey guys! So sorry I totally forgot to do one in the first one...oho...

I forgot that I was going to go back and change all the 'Atushi' to Murasakibara...its just that when I was coming up with the story I wrote it stream of conscious and typed Atushi because its shorter haha! But that will be fixed in later chapters 3

Thank you for reading!

Disclaimer: obviously KnB is not owned by me :)

-Almost a year later Rakuzan loses to Seiran-

Akashi had lost.

Akashi Seijuro had lost.

He never lost, ever.

So how was it that he was on his knees in the middle of the basketball court, eyes wide and body rigid, a loser?

He should be ashamed at himself, he should be disgusted with himself, but he wasn't….

Suddenly, he felt a release – he felt excitement. He had lost….but he had actual fun on the way down.

His head hung low, looking at his hands, clenching and unclenching them….he couldn't help but think of the one he had failed…the one he had lost…he wondered what she would have thought of him…would she be disappointed? Would she be relieved? His thoughts were interrupted by a hand appearing before him, outstretched, offering to help him up. "Akashi-kun" He heard in a voice he thought he would never hear again…

His eyes trailed up the hand to the arm, the shoulder, and when he saw her face he felt as though his world had come apart. It couldn't be her. There was no way. Had the reality of losing so disturbed him that Akashi Seijuro had actually lost his mind? He stared into sky blue eyes, vision blurring as tears threatened to break the surface. "It can't be…" It was barely a whisper. "Am I dead?"

"You're not dead, Akashi-kun" Kuroko Tetsuna stated simply. Akashi blinked, letting tears fall down his face. "Then…am I going to die, Tetsuna? Have you come for me…to make me pay for my sins?" Tetsuna cocked her head to the side, "I don't know what you're talking about Akashi-kun."

Akashi rushed to embrace her as he stood, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and the other gripped at her hair. He nuzzled his face into her neck, and let out a raspy breath. He felt the silky feel of her sky blue locks, the unbelievable smoothness of her skin, and the smell of decadent vanilla attacked his senses.

"Tetsuna…Tetsuna…Tetsuna" He repeated it like a mantra, afraid that she would disappear in front of him. "Akashi-kun…you're sweaty….and kind of smelly" Tetsuna attempted to pull away from her old captain, but he wouldn't…he couldn't let her go…not now…not after all this time. It wasn't until he heard the annoying copy cat's voice echo above the celebrating and the cheering for Seiran that he allowed himself to break away. The moment he had, new arms wrapped around her, "Kurokochi!" The blonde practically screamed. His arms wrapped around her way and lifted her high into the air. "Its scary, Kise-kun. Please put me down" Kise obeyed, opting to slide Kuroko's body against his as he lowered her. "I missed you, Kurokochi. I really…really…." The happy, bubbly attitude was replaced with sadness…and relief. Kuroko stepped on her tippy-toes and rustled Kise's hair. "I missed you too, Kise-kun" His eyes widened as he screamed his nickname for the girl once more, enveloping her completely in his arms.

He ran, as fast as he could, he ran. Quickly navigating his way through the stadium, Aomine Daiki stood motionless at the scene before him. When he saw the teal haired girl in front of Akashi, he thought he was losing his mind. But now, standing a couple feet away from where Kise was hugging her, the reality of the situation crashed down on him.

She wasn't dead. Kuroko Tetsuna wasn't dead. She was there, a few feet from her and all he had to do was walk over and touch her. But he couldn't move. He was too stunned, too shocked to take another step. He thought he had lost her. He thought he had lost his best friend and the one he so sorely loved in one fell swoop, but she was there…she was real.

Kise let Kuroko go and let Murasakibara have a turn. He quickly picked her up under the arms so that they were eye level. They stared blankly at each other before Murasakibara brought her close to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "You smell so good, Kurochin" was all he could bring himself to say. He opted to simply hold her, until he felt her wriggle uncomfortably in his arms.

Midrioma couldn't bring himself to the hug the girl – as happy as he was to see her again, his tsundere-ness would not let himself show how emotional he was. Kuroko smiled at him – a soft, gentle smile of understanding. When Atushi put her down she went to Midroma and gently hugged him. He allowed himself to hug her back, using the guise of adjusting his glasses to hide the fact he had to wipe away tears. She always understood him, she always knew what he wanted or needed, and the fact that he finally had that back, was almost too much to bear.

Aomine had still not moved from his spot. He watched as she smiled at Midroma after their hug, he watched as if in slow motion as she turned to him. She stretched out an arm to him, a smile still playing at her lips. Aomine willed himself forward. He took one step at a time until he was sprinting towards her- he practically tackled her when he finally reached her. After a moment of simply feeling the rightness with which her body pressed against his, he pulled away, cupping both of her cheeks in his large hands and pressing his forehead against her's. "Tetsu…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry"

Her eyes never left his, he felt her reach up a hand to cup the side of his face, leaning forward to apply a little pressure to his forehead, "Its O.K". He felt the emotion erupt inside him, "I thought I lost you forever…" His voice breaking. He saw her eyes curve slightly, indicating that she was smiling a little, "Ahomine" He heard her whisper and he couldn't help but laugh.

"Oi! Kuroko, come on! Let's go celebrate!" Kagami Taiga barked from the middle of the celebrating Seiran team. She pulled away from Aomine, eyes locking with Kagami's, she smiled and nodded. As she turned to return to her team, Akashi quickly grabbed her right hand. He immediately knew something was wrong. Her reaction to him stopping her was too slow. She should have turned the second he touched her hand, but she didn't. The reaction didn't happen until she had felt a tug…up her arm. If that wasn't enough…her hand…was hard. Before she could say anything, before she could protest, Akashi quickly rolled up her hoodie sleeve. His eyes widened in shock as he revealed a shiny plastic arm.

"Tetsuna…" Akashi started, but she quickly took her hand away from him, rolled her sleeve back down and started walking back to her team. "I'll see you all at the celebration." She said simply. And just like that the GOM watched as Kuroko Tetsuna left their side and into the open arms of the Seiran team.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Nothing to say really :)

Oh, I guess- please forgive some of the incorrect details! It's been a while since I started reading KnB so somethings just slip my memory and in my current state, am too lazy to look them up~ ;)

(plus my grammar and spelling...they kind of suck oho)

Disclaimer: KnB is not owned by me...hehe that rhymed :)

As per tradition, the winning school hosted a celebration. A party, of sorts, to thank all the teams for their hardwork and to inspire good sportsmanship between the athletes. All players were mandated to attend. Normally, this would be an occasion the GOM dreaded – normally they wouldn't care to meet and greet with the people they would have typically beaten. But it wasn't a normal occasion – not only had they lost but they knew their sixth man would be there and they needed to see her again.

The GOM met up at the celebration and wandered the party in search of Tetsuna. It wasn't until they took their search outside of the Seiran gym that they found her, leaning against one of the gym's outer pillars.

She was wearing them same Seiran High hoodie, but instead of the long track pants, she wore the skirt to her uniform. It was then that the GOM noticed that her right leg was also made of shiny plastic.

She heard them approach and turned to face them. Kise acted first, he ran to her. He took her prosthetic hand and held it to his cheek, he turned to kiss it once before placing it back on his cheek, his large hand holding it there. His other hand touched the rest of her fake arm. "Kurokochi" He was all he could bring himself to say. She looked at them him with a sad smile. "You know, I thought you all hated me" She whispered, bringing her left hand up to gently urge Kise off of her. "I thought that you had heard that I had lost my arm and my leg. I thought that when you heard I would never play basketball again… you had thrown me away. I thought you all deemed me worthless….winning was all that mattered to you and if I couldn't help you win then you didn't need me at all. All those nights in the hospital, all I could think about was how you abandoned me" She looked down at her feet. "But you didn't know, did you?" She looked up at the GOM. "All this time, you had no idea what happened…right?"

"We thought you were dead" Akashi started. "You thought I was dead? Why would you think that?" Kuroko asked, cocking her head to the side. "We noticed you had stopped coming to practice. At first I just thought you were skipping. But when you didn't show up at all we went to your house and we couldn't find you or your family. Some gossiping housewives were hanging outside near your house…we talked to them and they told us you were in an accident and you were gone"

"We should have kept looking…but the news was so devastating – we just accepted it" Aomine walked towards her, "We were wrong, Tetsuna. We wronged you, Tetsu. We wronged you before you disappeared and after. We were so wrong….Can you forgive us?" He fell on one knee in front of her, bringing them to about the same eye height. He hung his head low, shaking. "I'm…"

Before he could finish, he felt a very painful chop to his head. He exclaimed in surprise and pain and stumbled backwards. He looked up to find Kuroko still holding her hand in the position she used to hit him. "Ahomine, do you think that if I still held a grudge after all this time I would have worked my butt off helping Seiran beat you? I wasn't angry at you for what you had done…I was afraid you had lost your way. But you all seem to be back now, normal….relatively speaking, of course."

Euphoria.

The wave of relief that hit the GOM crashed so hard, save Akashi, they burst into laughter.

Riko and Hyuuga watched from the door. Hyuuga smiled, "Ah, its good to see that they've made up." "Yeah, seems as though Kuroko-chan fulfilled her promise." "Yup!" Hyuuga stretched, a pleasant sound coming from his as his muscles tensed and relaxed, "It's going to be nice…finally having some peace"  
Riko lifted an eyebrow at her friend, "Peace? Idiot, the war has just begun." Hyuuga froze, "B-but we just won…Kuroko and the Miragen made up. What's there left to fight about?" Riko motioned her head in the direction the group of teens celebrating for reasons of their own. He watched as they laughed and joked. He watched the way their touches lingered on Kuroko, the way their eyes shined with more than affection. "You…you can't mean…you can't be serious?!" Hyuuga practically screamed. "That's right." Riko smirked, "The battle has just begun"

Hyuuga wept, openly. So much for graduating peacefully...

Kuroko had decided to go home early. She had an appointment with her physical therapist in the morning and she didn't want to oversleep. Normally, Kagami would have walked her home, but unfortunately for him the sempais in their cheer had grabbed Kagami to go drinking. Kagami didn't like leaving Kuroko's side. Not after she had told him what happened the last time she went home by herself at night. He was her light, her protector, he wasn't going to fail her…too many people had failed her in the past. But even with his determination and crazy gorilla strength, Kagami couldn't break away from the sempais. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or felt more afraid when he saw the GOM start to walk her home.

Kuroko was happy. So happy you could almost see the excitement in her face. She had kept her promise to Seiran and she had reconciled with her friends…she felt as though all was right with the world. She understood the GOM's need to see her home safely after what happened the last time they let her go off by herself, what she didn't understand was why Akashi held onto her hand. Since she told the GOM she was heading off early, Akashi had grabbed her hand and refused to let go. He had ignored her question and simply began to walk. "Maybe he's just being overprotective?" the thought made her smile, "its good to have friends"

While Akashi was rather proud of himself, the rest of the GOM looked on with envy. Why hadn't they thought to grab hold of her hand? As always Akashi was one step ahead…he always won. But Kuroko Tetsuna was one competition that they refused to let their old captain win.

The next morning, Kuroko locked her front door and was surprised to see none other than Aomine at her fence. "Ah, Aomine-kun…what're you doing here?" "I thought I'd get you breakfast and accompany you to your physical therapy session" Aomine held up a small white milkshake and smiled, knowing the young blunette wouldn't be able to resist. She crossed her fence and took the small beverage into her hand with a smile. "Thank you, Aomine-kun. But are you sure you want to come with me? Physical therapy is rather grueling…I don't know if you want to witness it" Her face was emotionless as always, but behind those big blue eyes, Aomine swore he saw concern. "Ah, I'll be O.K. I won't leave you when things get rough, not again" Kuroko had the ghost of a smile on her lips, "Thank you, Aomine-kun"

When they got to the PT clinic, Aomine and Kuroko were shown to a large, gym like room. There were a couple people in there already working with various physical therapists. Kuroko hadn't been joking when she said physical therapy was grueling. He winced as he watched some of the other patients crying out or falling. He wondered if Tetsu had gone through that stage as well…and if she was lonely. When Kuroko's physical therapist came, Aomine sat in a nearby chair and watched as the PT gently removed Tetsu's prosthetic arm and leg. "You seem to have some soreness and reddening" the PT said noticing how Kuroko had winced. "Yesterday was the Winter Cup for the basketball team I helped coach…I guess I got over zealous" The PT smiled, "Did you win?" Kuroko looked at her with a smile, "yes". The PT laughed, "that's good, but you have to go easy. Especially on your leg- I don't like how red its become. I'm going to write a prescription for some antibiotic, topical cream – only use it if your leg hurts a lot and become more red, O.K? I'll also get you a refill on your muscle relaxant cream" Kuroko nodded. "Now, are you ready for the hard part?" Kuroko gulped and nodded.

Aomine had never heard Tetsuna scream. He sat stunned as the PT helped Tetsuna stretch, that had seemed painful on its own. But then he watched as she was forced to lift weights with her stumps. The normally emotionless, stoic Kuroko Tetsuna had sweat and tears running down her face openly. The PT had offered to take breaks, but Kuroko shook her head. As Aomine sat there, he witnessed the strength, the raw determination of Kuroko Tetsuna.

Kuroko laid on the table, panting and exhausted. The PT had gone to get Kuroko her prescription, the second she had left, Aomine was next to Kuroko, holding her hand. "Argh…it hurts" Kuroko groaned, she gripped Aomine's hand. Aomine helped her sit up and leaned her against his chest, one hand holding her hand in a vice like grip, the other wrapping around her body, bring her close to him. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't understand how Tetsuna had gone through all of that. Sure, it hadn't been super long since the accident, but if she was in this much pain after all this time – what must she have been like right after it had happened? In that moment, Aomine felt like more of an ass than he had ever felt before. "Are you O.K, Tetsu?" He asked leaning his head against her's. "Ah, I'm fine. Somehow having Aomine-kun with me makes it easier" Aomine felt his heart leap, "Then…then whenever you have a session, I'll come with you" "Are you sure, Aomine-kun? You seemed pretty scared this time…" Aomine gulped, it was true, seeing Kuroko in so much pain had made his blood boil, "But now I know what to expect, I'll be fine" He felt her nod and felt her breath as she sighed, "Thank you, Aomine-kun"

The PT had come back with two bottles of ointment and a wheelchair. One bottle was for everyday use to ease the pain in her muscles, the other was for any pending infection. She advised that Kuroko spend about a week in a wheel chair as an extra precaution. Kuroko suddenly felt very grateful to have Aomine with her or else it would have been hell trying to get back home. After they had left the clinic, Kuroko offered to treat Aomine to Maji Burger for being so kind to her.

Aomine wheeled Kuroko into Maji burger and was suddenly distraught at finding the rest of the GOM there as well. "Kurokochi! What happened?!" Kise leapt from his seat the moment he saw her. His arms were around her in a second, before cupping her face and trying to find any other injuries. "Ah, I just had another physical therapy session. My doctor said I should keep off my leg for a week. That's all, Kise-kun. Don't worry" Satisfied with her answer and knowing she was alright, Akashi raised an eye brow at the Ganguro wheeling her to their table "And why is Daiki with you?"

"I offered to go with her, that's all." Aomine stated simply taking his seat, and smirking at the rest of the GOM. "If…if that's the case let me with you next time, Kurokochi!" Kise begged. "Ah. That's O.K, I think you would annoy me to death. Besides, Aomine-kun offered to accompany me." "SO MEAN, KUROKOCHI!" Kise cried. "I think it would be O.K for us to come as well, right?" Akashi asked, a devilish smile on his lips. Aomine shuttered, but Kuroko held her emotionless face. "That's O.K, Akashi-kun. I think too many people would disrupt the clinic" but before he could protest, "I'm going to get food now" "I'll help you Kurochi, I need more food" Atushi quickly stood up and wheeled Kuroko to the counter. Aomine sighed and held his head in his hands, "Its for the better that you don't come…I've never seen Tetsu so…" He winced and lowered his hands to watch Kuroko as she ordered her and his food. "It was rough…" he said simply. "If you can't handle it, Aomine, maybe someone more capable should accompany her" Midroma said, adjusting his glasses. Aomine glared at the green haired megane, "You weren't there…you didn't see her in all that pain…"

"You're paying for Aominchin's food, Kurochi?" "Ah, as a thank you for coming with me to my appointment" Kurko replied as they waited for their food to come out. "Ah, does that mean if I go with you next time you'll buy me food too?" Atushi asked cocking his head innocently. Kuroko smiled, "I think he was scarred from coming with me, I don't want you to go through that too" "Ah…but I want Kurochi to buy me food too…" "Then…tomorrow would you like to come with me to the opening of my sister's bakery? You'll have to pick me up and wheel me there, though." Atushi's eyes glistened, "It's a date, Kurochin!" He wrapped her in a hug. "But I didn't know your sister was opening up a bakery…or that you had a sister…" "Ah, yeah, her name is Tsumi. Why do you think I smell like vanilla all the time? It's because one-chan practices all the time at home"

"Does that mean Kurochi has lots of cakes and snacks at home?" "Normally, but one-chan has been busy with the opening, so she hasn't been home lately, or else she would have come with me to the clinic"  
As Atushi and Kuroko made their way back to the table, "I don't know anything about your family, Kurochin…" he mumbled. "Could you tell me more?" "Ah, Tetsu's family? Now that you mention it I don't know anything about your family either…" "Ah! Are there more adorable little Kurokochis running around in this world?!" Kise asked excitedly. Kuroko raised an eyebrow, "Stay away from my family, pervert" Kise went into the corner, a dark cloud looming over his head and growing mushrooms. "You were saying, Kuroko?" Midroma said, deciding to completely ignore the brooding blonde. "Ah…I have two sister and two brothers." Kurko started, "My oldest sister, Tsumi-oneechan is 26 and the head of our house – she works very hard and is opening up a bakery. Next oldest is my brother, Toshi, is 20 and is going to Tokyo U to study English – he wants to become a professor. Then there's Terumi and Toki, they're twins and they're 18 now. Terumi wants to become a chef and Toki wants to become the master of a shrine." Kuroko hesitated to mention Toki's career path as the young Toki bounced around from interest to interest. "What about your parents?" Aomine asked, nonchalantly. "Ah, my mother died from an illness soon after I was born and my dad is some sort of photographer or writer exploring distant lands – he left soon after my mom died and never came back" She shrugged taking a sip from her milkshake – completely emotionless. "Ah…sorry" Aomine mumbled feeling very awkward. "It doesn't matter" Kuroko looked at the GOM with a smile on her face, "I'm happy"

"ah…so…your sister is opening up a bakery, huh? Is that why you like vanilla so much?" Kise asked coming out of his corner. Kuroko thought for a moment, "When I was little, when I was sad Tsumi-oneechan would give me something vanilla flavored things to cheer me up…so I suppose you could say that, yeah." "When is your sister opening her bakery?" Akashi asked, not liking how he hadn't gotten a word in edgewise. "Ah tomorrow, actually…Atushi-kun and I are planning on going together….would you like to come as well?" Akashi eyes Atushi carefully, who was suddenly interested in the ceiling and was pouting at it. "I would like that" Akashi responded with a smile, earning a soft smile from Kuroko as well. "Count me in!" Kise cheered. "I don't have anything better to do, besides my Lucky Item for tomorrow is a strawberry vanilla cake." Midroma muttered. "Then, I'm going as well!" Aomine smiled. "Ara, Daiki, I do believe you have make up classes tomorrow." Akashi smirked. "What?" Aomine turned to his old captain, shivering. "You've missed too many classes, Daiki, if you don't go to your makeup class tomorrow – they'll kick you off the basketball team…" Aomine's eyes widened, "Bullshit! You cant be serious?! How the hell do you know that?!" "The question is, how do you not?" Akashi smirked, triumphantly. Aomine banged his head against the table. "It's O.K, Aomine-kun. We can save you something if you would like…" Kuroko cocked her head to the side slightly, looking up at Aomine with her big blue eyes.

. "That's O.K, Tetsu. Maybe we can have a make up date?" He winked at her. "Ah! Don't think you can just monopolize Kurokochi like that! I want to have a date with her too!" "Please do not speak as though I am not here, Kise-kun" Kuroko chastised taking a sip of her milkshake. "Why do you have to tease me so much, Kurokochi!" Kise whined bringing Kurokochi into a tight hug. Kuroko sighed and gently tousled Kise's hair, "I apologize, Kise-kun…I suppose I just missed teasing you the time we spent apart." Kise's eyes went wide and he tightened his hug and cried out. This went on for less than a minute when a pair of rather sharp scissors whizzed in between them. "You're clinging too much to Tetsuna, Ryouta" "That was dangerous, Akashichi! You could have hit Kurokochi!" Kise cried waggingly an accusing finger at their former captain. "Do you doubt my accuracy, Ryouta?" Akashi smiled. "O-of course not, Akashichi…ah..ha…ha" Kise immediately retreated. "Well then….can someone wheel me home? I think I would like to get some rest" "I'll do it, Tetsuya" Akashi said as he stood. "…on my own" Akashi growled before anyone could tag along. "Thank you, Akashi-kun" Kuroko said, enjoying how the wind blew her hair. "It's my pleasure, Tetsuna" Akashi smiled. He liked seeing her like this and he so sorely missed the moments when they were alone together. These moments were rare, even in their Teiko days. He had missed her…and their reunion had been…more overwhelming than he thought it would be. He didn't think there would be a reunion. When he had heard the supposed news that Tetsuya was dead, he broke down. He felt as though his insides had been ripped from him…

On their reunion, Akashi had cried…cried. He never cried, most of all in public. But the moment his eyes met her's, the moment he realized Tetsuna was real, flesh and blood, alive…the wave of relief was almost unbearable. He wasn't going to leave her side…not again, not ever. "You're being very quiet, Akashi-kun" Kuroko's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Ah, I apologize" "I don't mind the silence…but you seem worried…" He couldn't help but smile, she knew he was worried, she hadn't even been looking at him and she knew. He pulled the wheel chair over to a nearby park and stopped under the shade. They quietly watched as the children and families walked and played in the park. Kuroko smiled at them before turning her eyes to Akashi. He noticed her looking at him so he knelt down in front of her. "I missed you" He said, taking her hands in his. "Akashi-kun…" "I missed you..." he repeated. "I thought you were gone, for good. I should have looked into it. I should have fought harder for you. I'm an Akashi, I am absolute…I am supposed to be…" Kuroko smiled and gently banged her head against Akashi's. "Its O.K, I understand…I missed you too" Akashi looked up. The way the sunlight peaked through the leaves of the trees and landed on her, the way the shade made her eyes seem to glow…it was breathtaking. He wanted to kiss her, he felt himself lift his head towards hers, but he forced himself to stop. He didn't deserve it, he knew he didn't. He had to make amends first. Sure, she said she had forgiven him, but it wasn't enough. He had to rebuild the bond he had broken long before the accident, he had to get to a place where he could forgive himself before he could properly confess. "That's good to hear, Tetsuya." They continued their journey back to the Kuroko home. "Do you really not want me to come to your physical therapy session?" He asked, trying to be nonchalant. "Ah" Kuroko started, trying to collect her thoughts. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable" "Aomine looks at me weird" She started. Akashi raised an eyebrow. "I can't seem to put my finger on it, but I've noticed him staring at me strangely. I think it might be because he saw me during my session. It's rough, Akashi-kun. I don't know if everyone would be O.K with seeing me like that. He looked like he was going to throw up"

Akashi stayed silent. He always knew what to say and he always knew what to do…except when it came to Kuroko Tetsuna. She was a break from the pattern, she was an enigma, a variable he was unable to control. It was one of the reasons he loved her, but at times like this he hated it. He hated not knowing how to help her. It wasn't his place to tell her the only reason she noticed Aomine looking at her differently was because he loved her or that it would indeed, be devastating to see her suffer through the trial that was physical therapy. He wasn't a fool. The moment he got home after the party he had researched what a double amputee would have to go through in PT. He wanted to be prepared, he was going to go to her next session, but that damn Daiki had ruined everything by getting to her first. And the idiot made her sad, made her feel uncomfortable. He would pay for that.

Akashi pulled up to the Kuroko home. He glanced around and found some very familiar looking ladies gossiping about a block up the street. He smiled, they would pay, pay more than he had made anyone pay before. Akashi wheeled her to her front door when it burst open. "Crap, crap, crap, crap!" A tall girl with the same sky blue eyes as Tetsuna flung the door open. She had long black hair that she was attempting to tie into a large messy bun. "Ah, Tetsuna, welcome home! I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to your appointment. I'm really swamped for tomorrow…how was it? Why are you in a wheel chair?" "It was fine… she gave me some ointments to put on my arm and leg. Said I had to be in a wheel chair all week to ease the pressure off a little" "Oh…thank god" The tall woman bent down and gently kissed Tetsuna's forehead. "I'm so glad you're O.K, now, who the hell are you?" She asked facing Akashi with a severity in her eyes he had never seen in sky blue eyes before. "This is my friend, Akashi Seijuro" "Ah, one of the Miragen, huh?" "It's nice to meet you. You must be Tsumi-san." Akashi took a shallow, polite bow. ""Ah, I'm sure. Sorry, I can't say the same though. I don't really like you all that much, in fact, I'd say I hate you. There's some sample cakes in the fridge, Tetsuna, have as much as you want" Akashi was stunned, was it just in the Kuroko bloodline to shock him? Tetsuna and Akashi watched as Tsumi ran down the street in the direction he assumed was her bakery. "Sorry about that" He heard Tetsuna sigh, "she's very protective and….blunt" Akashi took a deep breath through his nose…another obstacle…great. He looked down Tetsuna, who was staring up at him with those impossibly blue eyes…it would be totally worth it…all those obstacles would be totally worth it if those sky blue eyes would only look at him. "Want some cake, Akashi-kun?" She tilted her head at him and he smiled. "Cake sounds good"


End file.
